13 h 29 minAudiobook6 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 13 h 29 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the sea promises a fresh start, but gives you hard work, bitter men and shattered dreams?
Wellingborough Redburn leaves a family fallen on hard times and signs aboard the Highlander, bound from New York to Liverpool. He wants adventure and a place of his own. As the lowest-ranking boy aboard, he faces scant pay, cold weather and Jackson, a sickly sailor who rules through fear.
Liverpool offers no simple escape. With his father's old guidebook in hand, Redburn explores a city that refuses to match his expectations. Harry Bolton brings charm and the lure of a riskier world. In Herman Melville's sea novel, an older narrator looks back on the boy whose hopes meet the harsh facts of working life.
What you’ll discover
- A boy among sailors Step aboard the Highlander, where Redburn's dreams meet the demands of daily work.
- Fear beneath the sails Meet Jackson, whose failing body does nothing to soften his hold over the crew.
- A guidebook and a city Walk Liverpool with Redburn as his father's book meets streets full of misery.
- Charm with a risk Encounter Harry Bolton, whose polished manners draw Redburn toward a glittering, uncertain world.
- Innocence seen with humor Discover a coming-of-age story that looks back at youthful illusions with a smile.
Who will love it
For readers who love sea stories, coming-of-age tales and vivid pictures of working life in the nineteenth century.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A poor boy longs for the sea
- The ship is nothing like his dreams
- Jackson rules the crew through fear
- Liverpool does not match the old guidebook
- Harry Bolton brings glamour and trouble
- Innocence meets the world, told with a smile
Who’s who
- Wellingborough RedburnA proud, sensitive boy from a family that has lost its money, who goes to sea hoping to find adventure and his own place.
- JacksonA thin, sickly and bitter sailor who dominates the crew through fear and takes a strong dislike to the young newcomer.
- Harry BoltonA well-dressed young man Redburn meets in Liverpool, charming and fashionable, who draws him toward a more glittering and risky world.
- Captain RigaThe master of the Highlander, polished and talkative on land, but remote and unhelpful to the boy once the ship is at sea.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
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- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 6 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
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Redburn. Il suo primo viaggio
by Herman Melville · 1849
A proud boy sails for Liverpool seeking adventure, but a hostile crew puts his dreams of the sea to the test.
Challenging10–20 hours to readItaliano
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In short
A boy dreams of the sea and finds out what it costs. Redburn.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A poor boy longs for the sea
Wellingborough Redburn grows up in a family that was once comfortable and has slid into hard times. His father is dead, money is short, and the boy feels the shame of coming down in the world. He has dreamed of the sea for years, fed by objects his father brought home, such as a glass ship on the mantelpiece.
Redburn sees the sea as more than work. He sees it as escape and as a way to become a man. He sets out largely on his own for New York. He wears a shooting jacket and carries a gun, as if he were going on a gentleman's hunting trip. The details show how little he knows of what waits for him.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 6 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1849
- Language
- Italiano
- Reading time
- 8 h 45 min
- Level
- Challenging
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What is Redburn by Herman Melville about?
It follows Wellingborough Redburn, a young man from a family that has lost its money, on his first voyage as a sailor from New York to Liverpool. He learns hard lessons about work, class and the world.
Is Redburn based on a true story?
It is a novel, but it draws on Melville's own first trip to sea as a young man, when he sailed to Liverpool on a merchant ship. Events and characters are shaped for fiction.
Who is Jackson in Redburn?
Jackson is a sick but menacing sailor on the Highlander who rules the forecastle by fear and treats young Redburn with open hatred. He is the book's chief picture of cruelty.
The author
Herman Melville
1819–1891 · American novelist and poet
Herman Melville (1819–1891) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and poet. He was born and died in New York City and also lived in Massachusetts. He published Moby-Dick in 1851, Pierre in 1852, and The Confidence-Man in 1857. His unfinished Billy Budd was published after his death, in 1924.
More by Herman Melville
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